“Take an amount that is hard to break”… Oh Ji-hwan became the first shortstop to break the 10 billion mark

“I hope a shortstop gets a hard-to-break price. He deserves it.”

Heo Kyung-min (33), third baseman for the Doosan Bears, suddenly brought up the story of his friend Oh Ji-hwan (33, LG Twins) while talking about challenging for the Golden Glove again this year. Oh Ji-hwan won the Golden Glove for the first time in his life last year with 25 home runs -20 steals, joining the 20 home runs -20 steals club as the 1st individual and the 4th shortstop in history.

Heo Gyeong-min met with reporters at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 16th and reviewed his friend Oh Ji-hwan’s performance last season and said, “(Oh) Ji-hwan has been considered the best baseball shortstop in Korea. I am proud of my friend Ji-hwan who proved it. Talk of a multi-year contract. came out, and I hope that a shortstop will receive an amount that is difficult to break. He is a worthy player.”

As his friend wished, Oh Ji-hwan hit the jackpot with a multi-year contract. It was a historic contract that opened the era of the first 10 billion won shortstop. On the 19th, Oh Ji-hwan agreed to a contract with LG for 6 years from 2024 to 2029, a total of 12.4 billion won (10 billion won in guarantee, 2.4 billion won in incentives). It was the first multi-year contract for the LG club. Ahead of the 2020 season, at the time of his first free agent contract, he blew away the sadness of signing for 4 billion won in 4 years after entrusting the club with a blank sheet. 슬롯사이트

Including free agency, the previous highest shortstop contracts were recorded by Kim Jae-ho (38, Doosan Bears) and Noh Jin-hyeok (34, Lotte Giants). Kim Jae-ho signed a contract with Doosan after the 2016 season, and Roh Jin-hyuk signed a four-year, 5 billion won contract with Lotte this winter, receiving the best treatment as a shortstop. Oh Ji-hwan has far surpassed his previous record and left a case that will be difficult to break for the time being.

Oh Ji-hwan now has to continue his career as the highest-paid shortstop of all time. In March, the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team must first challenge for the top, and in the new season, LG must strengthen its challenge to win. To do so, on the 21st, Oh Ji-hwan boarded a plane to the United States along with Jung Woo-young, Kim Yun-sik, Kang Hyo-jong, and others as part of the spring camp selection team.

Right after the multi-year contract, Oh Ji-hwan said in an interview with Spotify News, “I wanted to convince people. I don’t think everyone would have admitted that I was good at receiving the Golden Glove once. I wanted people to acknowledge that I was better than before. “I’m looking forward to the new season. I’m working hard to repay the fans by making up for what I lacked at the end of last year.”

Heo Kyung-min sincerely cheered on his friend’s success and vowed to do his best. Heo Gyeong-min also hit the jackpot with Doosan after the 2020 season for a 7-year, 8.5 billion won free agent contract, and has his first Golden Glove in 2018, consistently maintaining his place as the league’s best third baseman.

Heo Gyeong-min said, “It’s been 5 years since I won the Golden Glove this year. I want to go to the awards ceremony once. I really want to go to the awards ceremony.